Portable breathing assists are already known. Prior art devices tend to utilize a fan means driven by an electrical motor, filter media usually upstream of the fan means, and a breathing mask downstream of the fan. Aside from the inefficiency of the fan as an air mover, the prior art generally tends to suffer from a lack of compactness in design, and an unduly complicated structure which increases the cost of the item. Exemplary of the prior art are the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,122, issued Nov. 28, 1978 to Kienhofer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,662, issued Oct. 26, 1943 to Nathanson; U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,213, issued Nov. 16, 1971 to Savoie; U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,927, issued June 5, 1973 to Misaqi; U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,758, issued Apr. 14, 1959 to Motsinger; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,972, issued Nov. 18, 1980 to Hauff et al.